Water sports and particularly water sports that utilize a floatation device are well known. Non-limiting examples of such sports include surfing, water-skiing, kneeboarding or waterboarding, and a recent popular water sport is wakeboarding.
Surfing is an old water sport and perhaps is one of the most pervasive water sports available in coastal regions of countries throughout the world. Surfing may be pursued in virtually any coastal or beach area in which the adjacent body of water provides the periodic on-shore wave pattern having amplitude to be enjoyed by surfers. Basically, the ocean-to-shore movement of periodically spaced waves typical of ocean coastal areas assumes a pattern of widely spaced rolling swells which provide a moving water surge having a downwardly angled shoreward slope which progresses toward the shore and which under many conditions tends to form a washover or curl along its upper crown or edge. In such areas where waves are sufficiently sized to be enjoyable, surfers can be seen waiting off-shore usually assuming prone or sitting positions upon their elongated buoyant surfboards. The basic object of the surfing activity is to observe an approaching wave and thereafter, in a properly timed activity to the waves, approach, paddle or otherwise maneuver the surfboard onto the shoreward slope of the wave in an activity generally referred to as “catching the wave”. The maneuvering of the surfboard onto the wave slope is usually achieved by the surfer in an a prone facedown position upon the board. However, once the board has been maneuvered to the shoreward slope and is traveling shorewardly with the wave, surfers generally prefer to stand up upon the board and by skillful manipulation of the board and shifting of their body weight both front to back and side to side maneuver the surfboard along the traveling wave.
The overall or general construction of surfboards has not been significantly changed through the years. All generally provide a planar buoyant board usually tapered from a maximum width at its center to a relative pointed front and back end. One or more downwardly extending fins are provided on the rear undersurface of the surfboard to provide stability and control within the water. While early surfboards were formed of solid wood and were relatively long and heavy, more recent surfboards which are significantly smaller, use a lightweight rigid core of a thermoplastic, such as polyurethane or a polystyrene construction, which supports a fiberglass outer “skin”. The result is an extremely buoyant surfboard which exhibits greater weight supporting capability and therefore may be fabricated much shorter and smaller than original heavy wooden boards. Such lightweight, high-buoyancy surfboards are also provided with one or more downwardly extending fins upon the undersurface of the rear portion of the surfboard. In either style of surfboard or in the many subtle variations that exist in each style, the downwardly extending rear fins are virtually a requirement to allow the surfer to maintain control and maneuverability due to the stabilizing action such fins provide by cutting or biting into the passing water stream.
Water-skiing is a sport that typically utilizes as a primary motive means a man-made device such as a motor boat. The skier may use one or two skis which are releasably attached to the user's feet via rubber bootings or straps. The bootings allow the user to slip from the ski when done, or in the case of a fall, allow the ski to become detached from the user without injuring the user. The front or nose of the ski is typically turned upward to prevent the ski from biting into the water and allowing the water, as the skier is pulled behind a boat, to channel under the ski, thus allowing the skier to “ride” or hydroplane on top of the water. Similar to the surfboard, a water ski typically includes at least one stabilizer fin.
Water boards are similar to water skis in that the water boarder is towed behind a powerful boat. However, the main difference in water boarding is that the water boarder kneels on the board. A strap is provided on the water board for the user to place over his/her thighs to keep the board in contact with the knees and shins of the user. It has been recognized that the stability of the water board can be greatly improved, under certain conditions, by incorporating two fins on the underside of the board. The fins provide control and lateral stability at high speeds. While this increase in stability is desirable for certain types of water boarding, there are other styles of water boarding wherein the fins are neither necessary nor desirable. One example of such a style would be jumping where the board and the user are towed across an inclined plane to gain altitude. Others would be spin-360's and side slides.
In wakeboarding, the rider secures the wakeboard to his or her feet through the use of bindings, which may include elastic straps or boots. One foot is secured in front of the other so that the rides typically stand sidewise on the board. The rider is then pulled behind a boat or other watercraft, in the same manner as in water-skiing, at such speeds that the wakeboard planes over the surface of the water. Early wakeboards had a shape very similar to surfboards, with a pointed front end and a more squared back end. Modern wakeboards have eliminated the pointed front end in favor of two symmetrical ends, which may be squared or have a more general curvature at the two opposing ends, similar to a snowboard. This allows the rider to reverse the orientation of the board with respect to the travel path while performing more complicated tricks during a ride.
In the aforementioned devices, a fin is typically added to the underside of the board to stabilize the board as it skims over the water. Due to the popularity of using the above types of boards for water sports, users have broadened their use to include doing tricks, such as spins, and jumping which typically utilizes a generally stationary ramp of a predetermined height. It is understood that a fixed fin, regardless of its size extending from the water contacting surface could be problematic in such events. Accordingly, moveable and/or retractable fins have been developed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,705 discloses a multiple fin surfboard having a triad of elongated slots at both ends of the board. The slots are grouped close to the front and aft end of the surfboard and support a corresponding plurality of fins in a pivotal attachment. The fins each support transverse vanes which are acted upon by a water passage beneath the surfboard to alternatively retract the fins at one end of the surfboard and downwardly extend the fins at the opposite end of the surfboard. A problem with this arrangement is that the fin is not positively biased and it is possible that when the front of the board is not in contact with water, the frontal fins can descend, causing the board to become unmanageable if the front even momentarily contacts the water.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,066,327 discloses a retractable stabilizer for water skis which pivots about a pin passing through the stabilizer and its housing disposed at the aft-end of the ski and above the ski surface. A latch is provided to maintain the stabilizer in the retracted position.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,082,444 describes a water ski safety skeg or fin which is protected from damage from underwater debris and inclined ramps by its ability to automatically retract when contacting a ramp.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,087,173 shows a retractable fin positioned at the aft end of a ski. The fin is contained within a raised housing which protrudes above the plane of the surface where the user mounts or stands on the ski. The position of the fin is controlled by two leaf springs and an S-shaped track through which a slide pin travels.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,546 discloses a retractable stabilizer for a knee board. The fin is pivotally fastened to a casing which is designed to receive the entire fin when retracted. The casing is formed with a notch facing the user for selectively positioning the fin in an down position or in the retracted position. The position of the fin is operated by a lever connected to the fin.
The conventional wakeboard fin is a flat fin extending perpendicular to the underside of the board and has a hydrodynamic shape that tapers from the underside of the board toward both front and aft ends of the board. On some boards, a second fin, of the same shape as the first, is added at the opposed end of the board. The second fin may be smaller than the first, and is used to stabilize the board when the rider has reversed the board. However, conventional wakeboard fins are not entirely satisfactory since the fins are rigidly affixed to the water-facing surface. Accordingly, there is a need for a wakeboard having an improved fin that would make it easier for beginners to learn to wakeboard and for more advance riders to achieve better performance from their boards. Consequently, there is a need in the art for a means of improving the performance of a wakeboard.